Explosions of All Kinds
by killertrees
Summary: Zutara oneshot taking inspiration from the episode Bitter Work. Zuko becomes so obsessed with lightening bending that he puts himself in danger of training to death. What can the others do to help him achieve balance and succeed?
1. Explosions

A/N: A stupid plot bunny woke me up at 8AM this morning and forced me at gunpoint to write this one-shot. It was going to be a light-hearted short drabble, but ended up being this slightly angsty fic instead. Bastard bunnies.

Disclaimer: I don't own avatar. Please don't steal my plot bunnies. They are armed and extremely dangerous.

Rated T. Let me know if the rating should go up or down.

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Another explosion sounded around the camp. The group winced; not only at the tenth explosion of the day, but at the barrage of swearing that followed.

Aang had quickly caught on to firebending with Iroh as a teacher. The old man seemed to know exactly what to say and where to guide him. Now that the young Avatar had come close to mastering both waterbending and earthbending he found the discipline he had previously lacked in order to master firebending.

Zuko, unfortunately, had held the same initial reaction that Katara had at seeing Aang's ease with the lessons. The first day Aang was able to shoot a bolt of lightening into the sky was the last day Zuko seemed to have any grasp with the world around him.

Zuko blew himself up trying to form lightening all day until he literally passed out. He wouldn't eat and the others had started to wake up to his fitful cries during the small amount of sleep he would get before meditating with sun rise.

After a week of this behavior, even Sokka had begun to worry for the firebender's physical and mental health.

Once the swearing had stopped and the group had braced themselves for another explosion, Katara walked over and sat with Iroh, who was taking a midday break from lessons with Aang.

"Would you like a cup of tea, Katara? It's jasmine!" Iroh said, pushing a cup of tea into her hands without waiting for an answer.

Katara giggled a bit. "Thanks."

They all winced as another explosion rang through camp.

"Iroh, why can't Zuko bend lightening?" Katara asked quickly.

Iroh sighed; he then gave her a wise albeit lazy smile and began with the same speech he had given Zuko, when asked about bending lightening the first day he had woken up from Azula's attack.

"Lightning is a pure expression of firebending, without aggression. It is not fueled by rage or emotion the way other firebending is. To perform the technique requires peace of mind; which as you can clearly see, Zuko lacks." Iroh scoffed a bit at his own comment before continuing.

"There is energy all around us.The energy is both yin and yang; positive energy and negative energy. Only a select few firebenders can separate these energies. This creates an imbalance. The energy wants to restore balance and in a moment the positive and negative energy come crashing back together. You provide release and guidance, creating lightning.

I believe my nephew could be among these select few. He has the talent and spirit necessary, the only thing he lacks is a balance of positive and negative energy to begin with. Too many horrible things have happened to him in his young life. He has had very little positive experiences to measure with the negative ones; this is why he can only bend the red flame.

There is too much raw emotion and negative energy in his heart. When he is able to find some kind of positive experience to measure with his negative emotions, he will be able to achieve the peace of mind needed to bend lightening."

Katara's eyebrows creased at this information. She sent a worried and weary expression towards the sound of yet another explosion.

"What kind of experience do you think would be enough to give him a positive side to form the balance? Is there anything any of us can do to help?" Katara asked. Aang looked at Iroh with a hopeful expression while Sokka and Toph leaned in, attempting to feign indifference but listening intently.

Iroh quirked his head to the side slightly and gained a thoughtful expression. Was there anything they could do to help? He had been trying to help the boy with happiness ever since his exile. There was only so much a lively smiling old man bearing delicious tea could do.

The next explosion ringing through camp also set off an idea in Iroh's mind. He jerked back a little as if the explosion had been in his brain. Smiling broadly, Iroh gave Katara a sly look.

"Love is the most powerful and can be the most positive of experiences a person can have. Yes, it can be hurtful at times, but in the end if a person has truly loved then they have felt true happiness."

Everyone but Toph gave Iroh a strange confused expression wondering where he was going. Toph was naturally the most perceptive of the group, and quickly caught on to what the clever retired general was trying to do. She had noticed his attempts before Zuko had gone berserk, while the others seemed to remain oblivious to his intensions.

Toph knew that there was an attraction between Katara and Zuko. Every time they came within five feet of each other she had to restrain herself from putting her hands over her ears to block out their racing heartbeats.

She smirked and leaned back for the show.

"Love? But Zuko loves you doesn't he?"

Iroh smiled warmly at Katara's comment and chuckled a bit. "Yes, and I love him as a father would love a son. But for a young man at his age, that might not be enough. He needs the love of a young woman to rouse his...er...positive energies."

"Where are we going to find a young woman to do that?" Aang asked innocently.

Iroh looked Katara with a goofy expression and raised an eyebrow at her. Finally catching on to his intensions, she blushed. At his sister's blush Sokka also caught on.

"NO WAY! My sister isn't going anywhere near that exploding freak!" Sokka yelled.

They winced as another explosion sounded through camp, followed by a thud. They all relaxed a bit, knowing that Zuko had finally worn himself out. Sokka's relieved expression was replaced by a seething scowl as he stood up and stiffly walked towards the origin of the explosions. Aang followed him with a sad expression.

They returned carrying a haggard looking Zuko between them, setting him down on his bedroll. The two boys looked down at him and Sokka's expression changed again; this time to one of worry.

At first things had been rough between the two older boys, but after a while they had begun to treat each other in a more teasing brotherly way. Sokka had been almost close to admitting to himself that he liked having another male his age around. Aang was fun and he considered him a good friend, but where as Zuko was interested in fighting and hunting, Aang had been more interested in childish amusements and not killing things for dinner.

Iroh, Katara, and Toph joined them in standing around Zuko. Katara gasped at his appearance. He had dark rings under his eyes and looked starved. He had cuts and scrapes all over his body and Katara had to quickly grab some water in order to heal him in a few places where he was bleeding.

Sokka sighed and knelt by his sister. "Do you like him?" He asked in a quiet voice, not daring to say love.

Katara blushed and looked down at Zuko. She ran a glowing blue finger over his chapped lips, healing them. Her hand remained on his face as she cupped his cheek, fingers brushing against his scar.

Tears began to prick at the sides of her eyes as she stared down at the tortured youth. When she finally looked up to her brother she nodded.

Sokka sighed in resignation. His baby sister was growing up and if she was going to be with anyone, he would rather it be with someone who could protect her and love her with all his heart. If Zuko's determination when it came to firebending was any indication as to the passion he put into other aspects of his life, Sokka knew Katara would have someone she could be with forever.

He also knew Zuko would treat her right. The firebender always seemed to make sure in a roundabout way that she was happy. And when ever they ran into Azula it seemed to be a contest to see who could protect Katara the best without her knowing.

Now, the only problem was letting go of the thought that she was his baby sister. She was a young woman now, no longer the little sprite he used to take care of.

Sokka grumbled something that sounded oddly like approval before walking over to the other side of the fire and pouting. The others shared a wide grin before joining him by the fire for dinner.

That night, Katara woke up to Zuko's screams. He sat up forcefully on his bed roll and held his head in his hands. Katara quickly and quietly left her own bed roll and crawled over towards him. The others had also woken up, but tried to get back to sleep and leave the two to as much privacy as they could.

He started when he felt a cool hand on his shoulder. He dropped his hands and looked at the waterbender kneeling next to him. She gave him a small smile before falling into his lap and embracing him in a tight hug.

Zuko's eyes opened wide at the gesture and his body stiffened. Then he heard tiny sobs emitting from the young woman in his arms. Both his surprise and resolve to stay distant from the other members of the group crumbled at the sound. He wrapped his arms tightly around her waist, pressing his face into her shoulder.

After what seemed like an eternity, Katara's sobs subsided and she pulled slightly away. The two teenagers stared into each other's eyes. "I can't stand to see you hurting like this," Katara whispered. The walls around Zuko's heart came crashing down at her tiny pleading voice. He was too tired to fight away his love for the girl in his arms any longer. He cupped her face in his hands before passionately pressing his lips to hers.

The next morning Zuko woke up to find Katara still wrapped tightly in his embrace. He smiled and kissed her on the forehead.

Someone broke his blissful daze by clearing his throat. Zuko looked up to see Sokka standing over them with his arms crossed and scowl on his face that didn't reach his eyes. There almost seemed to be an underlying amusement in his expression.

Slight amusement or not, Zuko quickly disengaged from the sleeping girl and turned bright red when he saw that the entire camp was already awake and smiling stupidly at him. He left Katara on his bed roll and sat down in front of the fire.

"Zuko, you are getting quite a late start today on your training. Usually you are up before the rest of us meditating." Iroh commented, taking a sip of his tea.

Zuko gave him a weary, distant look before saying quietly, "I think I'll take a break today. What's for breakfast?"

A collective held in breath was let out around the group. They knew Zuko had finally found his balance.

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A/N: Iroh's speal about how to bend lightening is from the episode "Bitter Work". I got the exact wording from avatarspirit dot net. The site is pretty awesome, they have episode transcripts.

The chapter following this isn't a chapter, it's an alternate ending. I had originally planned for this fic to be a very light hearted drabble but it went off in a completely different direction. The alternate ending is how I was originally going to write it.


	2. Alternate Ending

A/N: As stated in the previous chapter, I originally was going to take this in a different more humorous, lighthearted direction, but the story kinda got away from me. So, here's an alternate ending that has the same humorous tone that the drabble would have been had it stayed a drabble:

Disclaimer: Same disclaimer applies. Don't own Avatar the Last Airbender but I do own my plot. Please don't steal it. That's just plain mean...and illegal.

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"_Where are we going to find a young woman to do that?" Aang asked innocently. _

_Iroh looked Katara with a goofy expression and raised an eyebrow at her. Finally catching on to his intensions, she blushed. At his sister's blush Sokka also caught on._

"_NO WAY! My sister isn't going anywhere near that exploding freak!" Sokka yelled._

Another explosion rang through camp and every one winced.

Katara through her hands up in the air and glared at Sokka. "Well somebody had to do something! He's going to kill himself and/or drive us all insane!"

"You can't tell me you actually want him to fall in love with you?!"

Katara crossed her arms and put her nose in the air. "And what if I do? I'd like to see you try and stop me!"

"KATARA!"

"Shut up Sokka! Zuko isn't the only one that needs some peace of mind around here! If I hear too many more explosions I'm going to snap! Besides, he isn't all that bad looking and a powerful bender to boot..."

Katara's experience with Aunt Wu, the fortuneteller, had nagged at her mind the first day she had seen Zuko practicing his bending. Iroh had caught her staring and said, "My nephew is a very powerful bender, I know he will be a master some day."

She began to wonder if maybe she was destined for the firebender, who was older and more attractive to her than the younger airbender.

Sokka gave her a shocked indignant expression, his arguments lost on his tongue at the discovery that his sister found the psychopath firebender attractive. He let out a scream and grumbled obscenities while walking away from his sister. He glowered on the other side of the camp fire, determined to watch Katara all night.

Later that night, Sokka fell asleep (his effort to watch Katara doomed from the beginning) and his snores replaced the explosions but were just as loud. The group had generally gotten used to the snoring at night, however, and no one remained awake except for Katara.

She looked over at Zuko, and knew that she would have to act before his nightmares woke up the rest of the camp with him.

She quickly and quietly crawled out of her bed roll, towards the fitful firebender. She was thankful that he had chosen to set his sleeping place a short distance from the others.

Katara hovered over Zuko. She looked at his features, taking in his strong handsome face, her eyes traveling to the bit of his chiseled chest that peaked above his sleeping bag. She smiled with resolve and shook Zuko's shoulder.

Zuko roused from his sleep at the gentle shaking. He opened his eyes slowly. He saw Katara smiling down at him and propped himself up on his shoulders.

"What are you—"

Zuko's eyes widened considerably as Katara flung her body into him, mashing her lips into his own. He grabbed her shoulders before she could push him on his back, and sat up bringing her with him before pushing her out and holding her at an arms length.

"What are you doing?!" Zuko said in a hushed tone, staring wildly about him, making sure that Sokka wasn't anywhere near by ready to cut his head off with that damn boomerang.

Katara smiled playfully and put on her best seductive look. "Giving you balance."

Zuko's confused expression turned into another one of shock as she moved so that she was straddling his lap and tried to kiss him again. He just managed to keep her hunting lips at bay, but couldn't seem to toss her from his lap. Plus, the wiggling around trying to move her from on top of him was doing very uncomfortably pleasant things to his body.

He glared at her and she gave him a fake pout. "Did my uncle try any new strange flowers for your tea this morning?"

"No," Katara giggled and placed her hands on the top of his chest, moving them down towards his abdomen.

Zuko yelped and tried to get away from the obviously insane girl. This only aided Katara. While he struggled she was able to take him by surprise, flipping him over on top of her and wrapping her legs in a death grip around his waste. Zuko tried to escape but every time he tried to move off of her she bucked her hips, forcing him to lose balance and land fully on top of her.

He stopped struggling, but was able to hold himself up slightly as he gave her a frightened expression.

"Zuko, these explosions have to stop."

He scowled at her and was about to retort before she cut him off. "Your uncle told us that the only way you were going to finally be able to bend lightening was if you had something positive happen to you and love," Zuko raised his eyebrow at the word, "is the most positive thing you can experience right now. So stop struggling against the hot waterbending master throwing herself at you and love her already!"

Maybe it was what she said. Maybe it was just the culmination of the attraction and desire he already knew was there. Maybe it was the fact that he was aroused from all the struggling and she was pinned beneath him. Maybe had finally gone insane. Or maybe his teenager hormones, long dormant, had finally kicked in.

Whatever the reason, Zuko pressed himself to Katara so quickly that she didn't know what was happening at first. He ravaged her lips while one of his hands ran up and down the outside of her thigh, the other moving up her already disheveled robe.

Katara snapped back into focus and returned his fervor. She grasped his stocky black hair at the back of his head and pulled him as close to her has she possibly could. She let out a moan as his lips left hers in favor of her neck.

Unfortunately and surprisingly, the moan jarred Sokka out of his slumber. This would later be attributed to his big brother your-little-sister-is-about-to-get-it-on warning system embedded in all older brothers.

After Sokka woke up the night went by in a blur. By the morning the tired grinning members of the group could only recall lots of yelling, death threats, pleas to calm down, and finally a wild chase around the camp that somehow ended with both boys unconscious until morning; now the two were glaring at each other from across the camp fire as Katara prepared breakfast.

Iroh broke the intense air between the two, startling Zuko by shoving a cup of tea in his face. "So, Zuko. I see you are getting a late start on your training today. You have not even meditated yet."

Zuko looked into the fire and sighed. "I think I'll take a break today. What's for breakfast?"

Everyone but Sokka shared a wide smile. It seemed as if Zuko had indeed found his balance.

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A/N: Thanks for reading!


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